Defenses are an underrated part of fantasy football. They can make or break your week. A 15-point performance can give your team the edge it needs, but a one-point showing could be the difference in winning or losing.

Today, we’re going to take a look at all 28 defenses playing this week and identify the top 15 to start in fantasy this week.

15. Chicago Bears

Matchup: New York Giants

The top 10 in this list were pretty easy to rank, but once I got to No. 11 through No. 15, man, it got tough. I don’t love Chicago’s defense, but I think, out of all the teams that were left, they have the best matchup. New York’s offense can be pretty lethal when it’s rolling, but if they can put some pressure on Jaxson Dart, they can cause some problems. I still wouldn’t feel too confident starting them, though.

14. New Orleans Saints

Matchup: Carolina Panthers

Do I trust the New Orleans Saints to get a stop defensively? No. Do I trust the Carolina Panthers to go off and put up a ton of points? Also no. This will be a matchup of mitigating the damage. The Saints are going to give up yards, but I think they’ll be able to make a couple stops and turn six points into three against Bryce Young and the rest of Carolina’s offense.

13. Philadelphia Eagles

Matchup: Green Bay Packers

This is another matchup I don’t love, but Green Bay’s offense can be very inconsistent. We’ve seen them put up 30+, but we’ve also seen them struggle to put up 13 against Carolina. It’s just a matter of which version we get. I think the Philadelphia Eagles are more than talented enough to stop this offense, but they’re at No. 13 because Green Bay’s offense can be very deadly if they get rolling.

12. Los Angeles Chargers

Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers

I think the Los Angeles Chargers have a pretty underrated defense. Outside of one bad game against Indianapolis, they’ve been really solid this season, and I don’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense is anything special. They can put points on the board, but against a good defense like LA, I think they’ll struggle a little bit.

11. Baltimore Ravens

Matchup: Minnesota Vikings

The Baltimore Ravens’ defense was horrible to start the year, but they’re getting healthy and they’ve been playing pretty well the past two weeks. I do like Minnesota’s offense with J.J. McCarthy under center, but I don’t think they’re explosive enough to do a whole lot of damage. Baltimore shouldn’t have too much trouble if they can keep playing the way they’ve been playing the past two weeks.

10. Los Angeles Rams

Matchup: San Francisco 49ers

I love the Los Angeles Rams’ defense, and I wanted to put them higher, but San Francisco’s offense can be dangerous at times. If Mac Jones is playing well and they can’t contain Christian McCaffrey, things could go south fast. But I think they’re good enough to not let San Fran do too much damage.

9. Indianapolis Colts

Matchup: Atlanta Falcons

For a 7-2 team, the Indianapolis Colts don’t have that great of a defense. That being said, Atlanta doesn’t have that great of an offense, either. They can get hot and score a lot of points, but they’ve had a lot of disappointing performances this season. Plus, European games can be a bit sloppy, so I’m counting on that being a factor as well.

8. Seattle Seahawks

Matchup: Arizona Cardinals

I love what Mike Macdonald is cooking in Seattle, both offensively and defensively. They have been great this season on both sides of the ball. However, Arizona’s offense hasn’t been half bad with Jacoby Brissett under center. They’re not going to drop 30+, but they could make this game closer than it needs to be. I still believe in Seattle being a top 10 defense this week, regardless.

7. New York Jets

Matchup: Cleveland Browns

I don’t want any part of the New York Jets in fantasy for the rest of the year, but they play the Cleveland Browns, who have arguably the worst offense in football. Dillon Gabriel isn’t talented enough to elevate an offense full of mediocre playmakers, so this is a hard matchup to turn down in fantasy.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars

Matchup: Houston Texans

I do not like the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense. However, I don’t like the Houston Texans’ offense even more. And that dislike online increases if C.J. Stroud is out with a concussion. I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of offense in this game, so Jacksonville isn’t a bad start this week.

5. Carolina Panthers

Matchup: New Orleans Saints

This is another case of me not loving the defense, but not loving the opposing offense even more. Tyler Shough is a rookie who’s still learning, they just dealt Rashid Shaheed and Alvin Kamara seems to be a bit washed. It pains me to say all of that as a Saints fan, but it’s true. I think Carolina will hold them to 14 or fewer points on Sunday and finish as a top-five defense.

4. Buffalo Bills

Matchup: Miami Dolphins

Buffalo’s defense has a ton of upside this week. They’ve been playing great, and Miami’s offense has put up quite a few stinkers. However, Miami’s offense is also known to randomly go off, even against good defenses. If you start Buffalo this week, be ready for either a 12+ point performance or a three-point performance. No in between.

3. Houston Texans

Matchup: Jacksonville Jaguars

I just talked about how I don’t think there will be a lot of points in this game, so the Texans are also a great defense to start this week. The Jags have been far too inconsistent offensively this year, and with Travis Hunter out and Jakobi Meyers still learning the playbook, I don’t see them finding much success against the best defense in the league.

2. Detroit Lions

Matchup: Washington Commanders

I love this matchup for Detroit. Jayden Daniels is out, and we’ve seen the Washington Commanders struggle offensively even when he’s playing. They don’t have much of a run game, and I don’t trust Marcus Mariota as a starter. This bodes very well for Detroit, who should finish as a top-two defense this week.

1. Cleveland Browns

Matchup: New York Jets

Our top spot goes to the Browns, who have a very good defense and face a team that might not even be trying anymore. The Jets had a fire sale at the deadline, and while they didn’t give up any of their offensive pieces, such as Garrett Wilson or Breece Hall, they told the league they’re playing for the No. 1 overall pick. I love Cleveland most weeks, but especially this week against the Jets.